Jo-Anne Dillon
Bacterial Vaccine Development Group
Dr. Jo-Anne Dillon joined the University of Saskatchewan in September of 2004 as Dean, College of Arts and Science. Since 2004, she has been a professor in the Department of Biology, an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and a member of the College of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Saskatchewan. Throughout her career, Dr. Dillon has balanced her professional activities with the challenges of leadership and administration. Dr. Dillon, an Associate at the Royal Conservatory (A.R.C.T), University of Toronto, completed her undergraduate training at the University of Toronto and her MSc and PhD at Queen's University. After completing postdoctoral studies in the Department of Biophysics and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Dillon returned to Canada to establish the Antimicrobials and Molecular Biology Division at Health Canada. She later established and directed the National Laboratory for Sexually Transmitted Diseases at Health Canada. Dr. Dillon subsequently held several positions at the University of Ottawa including-Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Inaugural Director of the Centre for Research in Biopharmaceuticals and Biotechnology. She has led several national and international organizations, has consulted widely with national and international institutions, and is the author of numerous publications. Dr. Dillon has earned many academic awards. She has received the Roche Diagnostic/Canadian Society of Microbiologists award for 2007, as an outstanding Canadian microbiologist.
Research Interests:
- Proteins implicated in bacterial cell division, using round bacteria as model organisms
- Antimicrobial surveillance, antibiotic resistance mechanisms and molecular epidemiology of bacterial isolates, with emphasis on the human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- Antimicrobial activities of natural products
Current Projects:
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Antimicrobial resistance, public health, pathogenesis and vaccine development